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Kelly Slater has just won the 2013 Volcom Fiji Pro. He beat Mick Fanning in the final at smoking Cloudbreak, with a near-perfect 19.80 combined total. Kelly barely put a foot wrong all morning, clocking a perfect 20-point combined total against Sea Bass in the quarters, then breezing past John John Florence in the semis with 18.17 points. He scooped four 10-point rides during this event, if y’can believe it (one of which was in the final). He also now leads the world tour ratings.

“What a day,” said Kelly. “That was insane. When we stared out in the Final, Mick had position and I was a little deep, but the next one was unbelievable. I want to dedicate this to my brother and his wife and their new kid Van. He told me that if I missed the birth of his son, that I’d better win, so this is for you. I want to say hi to everyone at home. What can I say, what a day.”

Kelly then went on to thank everyone on his speed dial list, and emit more positive vibes than we’ve seen from him in a long time. A relaxed, excited and dangerous Mr Slater who’s had two world wins already this year reads nothing but trouble for everyone else.

Mr Fanning, runner-up. Volcom/Bielmann

While Kelly dominated, Mick certainly fought bravely. He took down Joel Parkinson and CJ Hobgood en route to the final, and posted up a 9.20 against Kelly. His backup, howevs, didn’t cut it. ”I’m pretty stoked,” Mick said. “I started off with the 9.2 and saw Kelly doing the Jesus Christ on the one behind it. When Kelly didn’t get a 10 on his first wave, I thought, ‘I’m still in this,’ but then he shut the door on the next one. Overall I’m happy. I didn’t really have a good start to this event and then at the end it came good.”

We now flip the switch and head to Keramas, for what could be the most high-performance event of the year, the Oakley Pro Bali.

The Volcom Fiji Pro finally came back to life today after a stint of Lazy Days. Cloudbreak was on and not a second (or wave) was wasted. Round three was finished before organisers made the call to steam through rounds four and five. Some highlights? There were plenty. Kelly Slater and John John Florence both scooped 10s. Kelly even backed his up with a 9.30. “That was unbelievable,” said the Floridian. “Those were some of the best waves I’ve ever had in a contest. On the 10, I was deep in the barrel and grabbed my rail, but I had to let go to get speed and then I hit the foamball, I barely made that one. I did the turn and got another tube. On that one big one, it was so perfect and I just wanted to be in the right spot. As I was in the barrel, it spit really hard and there was lots of mist and I couldn’t see. The foamball pushed my tail up in to the wave and I just couldn’t come out the way I wanted to. I didn’t even care if I won or lost, because I’d get to surf again.”

John John: A study in backside tuberiding. ASP/Robertson

How about that! John John, on the other hand, was unaware he’d done so well: “I didn’t know what the score was going to be because it was a bit of a smaller wave,” John said. “I did a couple of turns and then had the long running barrel on the inside and I was stoked to make it. I’m just going to keep doing what I’ve been doing. I’ve been going out having fun and I’m going to try and do the same thing in the next round.”

Joel shall sleep well tonight, with two 18(plus) totals in his pillow. ASP/Robertson

Joel Parkinson and Josh Kerr both clocked 18(plus) combined totals – Joel did this in two consecutive heats. “The waves are so good that it felt like a crime to come in,” said the current world champ. “It was one of those heats you hope to get where the conditions just seemed like it turned on. That was a dream heat, we actually missed some of the good waves. Cloudbreak is the best left in the world. I love Tahiti, but with how fast you can go and get barrels and do turns and everything, to me, it’s the best left in the world.”

And Mick Fanning put down the day’s highest combined total, in the day’s very last heat: 19.53 points against Kolohe Andino. It was breathtaking. “I had that slow heat earlier today and that was pretty much the opposite,” said Mick. “Awesome to finally get some good barrels at Cloudbreak and I’m happy to be through to the Quarters. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

More intensity, plz. Ain’t no shade from the spotlight when you shine this bright. ASP/Robertson

We are excitable, and we dig Jordy Smith immensely. And not that disenchanted 2009-2012 Jordy Smith, but this newly-reinvigorated 2013 Jordy Smith who takes destiny by the throat with both hands and chokes chunky heat totals out of it! Jordy certainly ain’t the first name that springs to mind when y’think of tropical kicker-dragging, but that’s all changed this year with much renewed enthusiasm and practice (having Jarrad Howse in his corner ain’t hurting either). After beating Micro Hall in round two of the Volcom Fiji Pro today, then putting away an 18.30 total against Kieren Perrow in round three, it transpires that Jordy is now current world number one (Adriano was leading, but was knocked in round two). Does he care? No! He just wants to to drag that big ol’ Beyonce ass through da tube!

Interview by Craig Jarvis

Craig: Hot damn, Restaurants was tough but kinda perfect!
Jordy: It started off good, but it just got better and better throughout the day. The winds did a few funny things but settled in the afternoon and the swell was just pumping. There were solid six-foot sets out there, maybe even some bigger. I’m stoked to have won that heat in such good waves.

The bottom end was scooping the wind, yes? It kind of bends, so a wave starts off perfect offshore and tubing, then it gets devil wind on it as you go further down, but it was so good. The wind played no part.

How was that 9.03! That was the biggest set of the heat, f’sure. Kieren got the first one and it was a big one. I knew he was going to get barrelled on it. When that next one came through it was right on the reef and I got barrelled and did some turns. It was so much fun! Restaurants is my best wave in the whole world, and to have it this good with just another guy out with you is such a pleasure and a treat.

What up with the newfound backside tube game? I’ve been working hard on my backhand tuberiding and just surfing lefts in general. It’s part of my reason for moving to Cape Town. You don’t get many lefts in Durban and there are plenty of lefts in the Cape. I’ve been surfing the Dunes whenever it’s good and have been getting some left barrels down there, and I’ve just been surfing lefts regardless whenever I can. Chasing lefts and surfing them.

You’re pretty much a local here now, too. I’ve been surfing about four times a day since I got here. We came 10 days before the contest started just to get into the waves and to iron out all the kinks. We’ve had so many waves, and I’ve just been hitting it out there whenever I can. We’ve surfed some both spots and it’s been so good. The waves have been non-stop.

Oh, and you’re, like, world number one! I haven’t thought about that to be honest. It’s sick. I’m not going to worry about it and just keep going forward, one step at a time. I do plan to keep it going.

Wilko, dancing in the electric blue (and into second place). ASP/Robertson

This morning at the Volcom Fiji Pro, the VQS event was called on. And, after four heats, it’d become apparent that the waves were more than adequate for the main event (kinda pumping, in fact). So, round one was called on. But Joel Parkinson, thinking the VQS would run in its entirety, went fishing. So, when Matt Wilkinson and Heitor Alves paddled out for their heat, Joel wasn’t there.

“I was 100 percent convinced last night that the contest would be off today so we went fishing early this morning,” said Joel. “There’s so much good surf coming in the contest window that I thought there was no way we’d be surfing so we grabbed the fishing rods and took off down the coast in the boat. But the swell filled in a little early and the conditions at Cloudbreak were so good they had no choice but to run. There’s no way you walk away from waves that good. I was out of phone range and by the time the contest was called on I was too far away to make it back because I was in the third heat of the morning.”

Kieren Perrow sliced his back but still managed to win his heat. ASP/Robertson

“I was pretty bummed to miss the heat, but I was even more bummed that I missed out on waves like that. That was pretty perfect Cloudbreak. There were some absolute bombs out there and the boys got tubed out of their brains all day. But I guess you’ve got to be philosophical about it. You’re never too old to learn a lesson and I’ll definitely pull back a bit on the fishing during events. I definitely won’t be fishing tomorrow morning! The upside I suppose is that I get to surf an extra heat and the forecast for the rest of the event is looking insane.”

Regardless, Heitor, who was a last minute entry, would’ve been a tough man to beat: He clocked an 18.63 combined total. “I’m so happy because I was in Brazil and got the invite just before the event, so it’s a dream for me,” he said. “I was just in Brazil and now I’ve just won a heat against Wilko. It was a hard heat, but I’m happy. I really need a result and hopefully I can do it here. I just got lucky.”

Another big result came from Mitch Coleborn, enjoying his second consecutive wildcard into this event and rolling straight off a Prime event win in Brazil. “This is the most amazing event all year,” said Mitch after posting a 19.33 combined total. “The waves are pumping. To get the wildcard again, I’m just so stoked. With priority in Round one now, it makes for more of a relaxing three-man heat. I was lucky with the first wave and that it was a 10. There wasn’t much jockeying. I was pretty confident after that and there wasn’t much hassling, so I was lucky.”

When he ain’t recovering from injury (leg, back, etc) or making everyone around him laugh in that my-sides-ache kinda way, Yadin Nicol is stomping some of the biggest rotations you’ll likely see in this age. No grab is especially his kink. But he can steer that rudder too. Bravo, Hurley, for the consistency of One And Only. (Filmed in Europe and Costa Rica).

Mason Ho’s legitimacy as the world’s most fun surfer is nearing undeniable status.Why? Well, among other things: The three-rodeos-in-one-sesh, rock rides, eternal stoke-face and ability to ride any kinda board (including his sister Coco’s) like it was custom shaped for him. For more jazziness like zis, burn rubber to Burger In Paradise.

Joel Ford does some big spins. And Mr Christopher Wilson refuses to do a whole rotation unless it’s done above the lip. Watch! It’s either a full-rotation air, or a finner out straight. That’s the kinda policy that you can expect to see a lot more of in the wake of air-reverse over-saturation. And that’s just fine. Shot and cut by Jackson O’Brien.

The new season of Who Is JOB? is alive on the internets. In the first ep of season 3.0, everybody’s favourite haole makes an impulse party purchase, goes road tripping, unknowingly inflates his waistline and makes some music at that little strip of sand called The North Shore.

Raw Hawaiian power. Just the way we like it. Photo: Oakley/Russ Hennings

Dustin Barca lights up an MMA opponent and a juiced Hawaiian righthander with equal ferocity. But it didn’t take him long to realise the world tour wasn’t for him. Now, beneath the bruises, you’d never guess that this proud family man’s biggest fear is a food corporation turning his backyard into Chernobyl. Among other things, being in the cage has taught Dustin to pick your fights, have a plan, and execute aggressively. His fight? Genetically-modified organisms being engineered on Kauai. The plan? Flood social media with awareness, and rally a defence. And you better believe he’s executing aggressively.

Interview by Craig Jarvis

Stab: I ain’t the brawling type, but professional fighting intrigues me. How’s it work?
Dustin: So, there are a bunch of organisations that organise fights. I fight under different organisations in the hope of getting onto the UFC. I’m currently fighting in the Pro Elite, which is like the WQS of fighting, and my aim is to get onto the UFC, which is like the WCT of fighting. To get onto the UFC you need a good number of wins behind you, and you need a solid image and presence. You’ve gotta win your fights. Once you’ve got a good record of fight wins, you might get to the next level, so there’s no messing ’round, y’know?

You play an aggressive campaign on social media. Who’s your beef with, exactly? It’s like this: I live with my family, wife and two kids aged two and five, on the island of Kauai. Kauai has recently become a kinda ground zero for chemical testing. All these big corporations that are testing pesticides, engineering and developing GMOs (genetically modified organisms/food) come right here in Kauai and start testing. We’re on an island, y’know? These corps, like Monsanto, know full well that if shit hit the fan, they could simply close off the island and contain whatever disaster they’d created. They’re already destroying our ocean, our environment and our water. For me, there’s nothing more important than family and friends. We have to look after our future.

Barca and his family on Kauai.

Your social media presence suggests a detailed awareness of your enemy. I’ve been involved for five years now, learning about GMOs and these corps that put corporate wealth ahead of human health. It took me three years to build up enough of a knowledge base to start working, and talking about what is going down in Hawaii and worldwide, and to be able to back up what I’m saying.

You got no problem calling out men like the Kauai Athletic Club owner, who’s a lawyer and lobbyist for the GMO chemical companies of Kauai. You also called a boycott of his club. I’m pretty involved with some deep organisations with inside ears. We know who’s getting bribed, who’s taking dirt money, which organisations are getting paid off and where they’re hiding the money. There’s a lot of information if you look really hard.

You don’t seem like the public speaking type, but you continually take the mic at rallies? I’m actually not much of a social person. I always get nervous speaking in public, but with this stuff, the more I learn what’s going on and the more I see what the big corps are doing for greed, the more I wanna talk. I’m not much of a religious person either, but I get a voice in my head and it guides me, tells me what to do. It’s like I’m on a mission. With this subject matter I have no shame and just start speaking, using my knowledge to explain what’s going on. I just talk from the heart. I mean, I’m a high school drop-out and a surfer, but I care about this stuff. We have to look out for our kids.

You’ve got pro surfing, pro fighting, activism, two young kids and a wife. How’s your schedule? I’ll tell you what, It affects my sleeping pattern. I surf in the day and I fight, and then I’ve got the kids and got to get everyone fed and put to bed. Then I get going, working, watching videos and doing research online, and it totally sucks me in and I end up having late nights learning about these corporates and what they’re doing to our country and to the world. So I end up staying awake all night.

How does your gal feel about this? She’s right behind me. In fact, she’s fighting this fight with me. She’s taught me so much about health and GMO’s and through her our kids are about 95% GMO free and gluten free. She’s great.

A Drewtoonz cartoon depiction of Kelly Slater and Dustin Barca fighting the good fight.

A few crooks in Hawaii, then? There’s so many of them. Governors, mayors, councillors, senators. They all get paid off. They get crazy money contributed to their political campaigns, and they hide it all away behind their public facades, but we’re coming, knocking. We’re calling them out in public. We know what’s happening.

What’s your strategy? Facebook. Social media is a good point to start and get a message out there. Social networks are so effective. If you’re doing something that’s good, and your message is sound and correct, you can get the world behind you so quickly. It’s simple. Everyone needs to spread the same message. If everyone comes together we have a very powerful voice and we can get this evil like Monsanto off the earth. Corporate wealth is destroying public health, and we’re all going to suffer unless we stand together.

Where’s your surfing at? Y’know, I’m surfing for my soul. I did the tour and it didn’t really work for me. I felt that the tour made me do five snaps to the beach, and it’s not really how Hawaiian surfers surf, y’know? I’m not that sort of surfer. Now I surf and I do the Hawaiian thing, which is big tubes and one big move, one huge move. I’m back to my old surfing approach. Fun plays an important part, and I feel like I’m surfing better than ever.

“Now I do the Hawaiian thing, which is big tubes and one huge move,” says Dustin. “I’m back to my old surfing approach.” We ain’t complaining. Photo: Oakley/Russ Hennings

Hawaii, Tahiti and Lowers. That’s where Conner Coffin does his best work, and that’s where we find him in his One & Only episode. Hurley have a coupla new webisode series rolling this year and this is one of them. Considering how large, and good, their new team is, we’re yet to be let down. Any footage of Conner is a good time, so expect power and sizzle when you punch play above.